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Super Mario Odyssey is a platforming game for the Nintendo Switch released on October 27, 2017.[7] It is the eighteenth title in the Super Mario series and the sixth 3D Mario title on a home console after Super Mario 3D World. The game has sandbox-like elements and revolves around Mario exploring Earth-based settings, similar to Super Mario 64 , Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario 64 DS with his new partner Cappy. Unique to this game, Mario is able to throw Cappy onto certain enemies and objects, allowing Mario to take control of them. Mario can also dress in different costumes, several being based from the previous Mario games. 

The game allows for two-player co-op, allowing a second character to use a single Joy-Con to control Cappy independently from Mario. The game also has online functionality, which allows players to compare their times/scores in certain events. In addition, Amiibo can be used to unlock certain costumes early, as well as obtain free hints towards the locations of Power Moons and regional Coins.


Story[]

Super Mario Odyssey - Screenshot 04

Mario meeting Cappy.

Beginning "in the skies above Peach's Castle", Mario and Bowser are seen fighting on Bowser's airship, with Princess Peach on board as well. Bowser punches the ground as Mario jumps backward. Bowser jumps at Mario and shoots fire at him which misses. Bowser then throws his hat at Mario which misses while knocking Mario's cap off his head and then turns around hitting Mario, sending him flying. Bowser then takes his airship towards the skies, as he prepares a forced marriage to Peach. He leaves Mario's cap adrift into the ship's back propellers, shredding it in the process. A piece is obtained by a Bonneter named Cappy, who eventually finds Mario in Bonneton, located in the Cap Kingdom.

Afterwards, Cappy wakes up Mario, but in his surprise, Cappy flees. After Mario catches up, Cappy introduces himself, and explains that Bowser had not only attacked the kingdom, destroying its airship armad, but had also kidnapped Tiara, Cappy's sister, using her as Peach's wedding headdress. Mario and Cappy team up to stop Bowser's plans and save both Peach and Tiara, and using the piece he collected, Cappy transforms into the Mario Cap, allowing Mario to use Cappy's abilities. Cappy also informs Mario that they may be able to find a usable airship in the next kingdom. However, before moving on, Mario faces the Broodals, who were hired by Bowser as his wedding planners. After defeating one of the Broodals, named Topper, Mario and Cappy use a Spark pylon to travel to Fossil Falls of the Cascade Kingdom, where they find the airship, dubbed the Odyssey, which uses Power Moons as energy to travel. Soon after, Mario and Cappy face Madame Broode with her Chain Chomp. Using the power of the Multi Moon won from Madame Broode, the Odyssey is ready for slel, and Mario and Cappy use it to chase after Bowser and the Broodals.

Mario and Cappy travel though several kingdoms. After going through Tostarena of the Sand Kingdom, Lake Lamode of the Lake Kingdom, and the Steam Gardens of the Wooded Kingdom, they encounter and defeat Bowser in the Nimbus Arena of the Cloud Kingdom. Bowser then shoots at the Odyssey, causing it to crash and land in the Forgotten Isle of the Lost Kingdom.

After Mario rescues Cappy from a Klepto and collects more Power Moons to restore the Odyssey, they travel through New Donk City from the Metro Kingdom, Shiveria from the Snow Kingdom, Bubblaine from the Seaside Kingdom, Mount Volbono from the Luncheon Kingdom, and many, many more kingdoms. They then attempt to enter Bowser's Castle in Bowser's Kingdom. However, they are encountered by Bowser before they get there. Instead of fighting Mario and Cappy, Bowser orders the Ruined Dragon to attack the Odyssey. This causes the ship to fall to Crumbleden of the Ruined Kingdom, where Mario and Cappy directly fight the Ruined Dragon. After restoring the Odyssey again, they finally go to Bowser's Castle and find Bowser with Peach. Bowser reveals that he plans to hold his wedding on the moon, and leaves Mario and Cappy to fight the Broodals in the RoboBrood.

Mario and Cappy destroy the RoboBrood, sending the Broodals flying as they recover another Multi Moon. They then head off to Honeylune Ridge of the Moon Kingdom to stop the marriage between Bowser and Peach. They interrupt the wedding as Bowser is attempting to put the Binding Band that was previously stolen from Tostarena on Peach. Bowser then stomps the floor, revealing a trap door under Mario and Cappy. Cappy grabs Mario by the fingers and tries to pull him out of the trap door, but his hands slip, causing him to drop Mario and fall into it himself. Bowser jumps in after them and engages them in battle but is defeated. Mario, Cappy, Peach, and Tiara are reunited but soon discover that the area they are in is collapsing. Mario uses Cappy to capture Bowser and escape, with all of them eventually returning to the moon. Mario and Bowser then simultaneously propose to marry Peach, with Mario offering a Rocket Flower and Bowser offering a Soirée Bouquet. However, Peach rejects them both and leaves with Cappy and Tiara. Mario and Bowser get upset, but Peach then calls from the Odyssey, saying, "Let's go home!" As the ship takes off, Mario and Bowser run after it. While Mario successfully jumps on it, he stomps on Bowser, leaving Bowser stuck on the moon. After Mario stomps on him, he retrieves Cappy and throws it towards the player with a smile.

After the credits, the Odyssey brings Mario to the Mushroom Kingdom. From here, they discover Peach and Tiara have left to go on a sightseeing tour of the world. Cappy and Mario decide to continue to look for Moons together, eventually discovering the Dark Side and the Darker Side. At the various kingdoms, there are now Moon Rocks.

Gameplay[]

Super Mario Odyssey - Screenshot 042

A Glydon captured by Mario flying in Forgotten Isle.

Super Mario Odyssey returns to the explorative sandbox-like gameplay seen in Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario 64 DS where Mario explores various areas in order to collect Power Moons to power the Odyssey airship to fly from kingdom to kingdom. There is no central hub world, as the Odyssey is rather used to move from one location to the others. Mario maintains his moveset from the previous 3D titles, including the triple-jump, long-jump, side-somersault, backwards-somersault, Roll, ground-pound, Jump, spin-jump, and the returning Dive. In addition, a new character called Cappy allies with Mario, and takes possession of his cap. Mario can throw Cappy as if he were a boomerang for a long range attack, he can use Cappy as an extra platform to bypass obstacles, use Cappy in conjunction with his dive move to cross large distances, and can also "capture" certain objects and enemies to take control of them, replacing the traditional power-up system seen in the previous Super Mario games since Super Mario Galaxy. There are 52 capturable targets in total.

The game also features a co-op mode. During this mode the second player as Cappy automatically hovers over the first player's head until they press the Left button where they gain independent movement, where they act as an animate Cap Throw. When the second player is hovering over the first player's head they can move the stick on their Joy-Con to move Cappy three hundred sixty degrees. When the second player is hovering over the first player's head the first player can still perform all actions with Cappy as in normal gameplay, however, they cannot perform these actions when the second player is not hovering above them. If the second player while being independent from the first player presses the Left button again they will automatically travel back to the first player's head until they press the Left button again. The camera follows the first player in this mode, and due to this the second player can only fly a certain distance away from the first player until they are stopped by an invisible wall. When the first player walks a certain distance away from the second player the second player will be pushed towards the first player.

Super Mario Odyssey - Screenshot 021

Life meter HUD in Odyssey

Mario's life meter also returns with three health, similar to Super Mario Galaxy. Additionally, there are no lives (and by extension, 1-Up Mushrooms and Game Overs) in the game making this the only 3D Mario game not to feature them, as Mario instead loses ten Coins upon dying. The Coins that Mario collects serve as currency. There are 2 types of Coins - global yellow coins, which can be found and used in any kingdom, and purple regional Coins, which are different in every kingdom, and can only be used in the kingdom they were found in. Mario can spend his Coins at the Crazy Cap stores to buy items for the Odyssey and costumes. amiibo support includes Mario, Peach, Bowser, and a new character called Uncle amiibo, which unlocks more costumes, including ones based on Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, and Diddy Kong.[8]; others reveal Power Moon locations on the map, though the latter four amiibo also do that before unlocking the costumes. This is also the case for the new "wedding" variants of the former three amiibo.

Super Mario Odyssey is playable in 13 languages: English, European French, Canadian French, German, Castilian Spanish, Latin American Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Russian, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, and Korean.

Snapshot Mode[]

Super Mario Odyssey - Screenshot 019

Screenshot taken with Snapshot Mode.

The game features a "Snapshot Mode", where players can suspend the game with the down button and take screenshots. Players are also able to alter the shot by zooming in and out, tilting the camera for a vertical shot, or apply one of several filters, ranging from blurring the surroundings, adding a sepia tone, changing the camera to a fish-eye lens, or applying an NES, Game Boy, or SNES-styled color scheme.

Costumes[]

Mario can wear a variety of costumes with most purchasable in Crazy Cap stores. Each kingdom has a set of costumes only purchasable with regional coins plus a few outfits that can be bought with regular Coins. In the post-game costumes can be unlocked for purchase depending on the number of Power Moons held though some can be unlocked earlier through amiibo. Even more costumes were unlocked in post-launch updates. The costumes are listed in the List of Costumes in Super Mario Odyssey.

amiibo Support[]

Amiibo - SM - Peach (Wedding Outfit) - Box

A Wedding Peach amiibo.

The Super Mario Odyssey series of amiibo were released alongside the game, as well as all previously released amiibo being compatible. The following are:

  • Mario - Grants you invincibility for a short time.
  • Peach - Gives you a Life-Up Heart.
  • Bowser - Indicates the location of local currencies.
  • Mario, Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, Dr. Mario, Diddy Kong, Wedding Mario, Wedding Peach, and Wedding Bowser - Provide a costume for Mario to wear.
  • All- Can give Mario a few coins.

Luigi's Balloon World[]

Super Mario Odyssey - Luigi's Balloon World - Screenshot 09

Luigi's Balloon World

An update in February 2018 added this new online activity. Players can find Luigi after beating the game. The first thing players can do is hide a balloon somewhere in the Kingdom in the given time. Then, players can talk to Luigi to access other players' balloon placements and racing to find them for decent rewards.

Kingdoms[]

Super Mario Odyssey - Background Artwork - Wooded Kingdom

Steam Gardens of the Wooded Kingdom, one of the game's regions.

Kingdom Location
Mushroom Kingdom Peach's Castle
Cap Kingdom Bonneton
Cascade Kingdom Fossil Falls
Sand Kingdom Tostarena
Lake Kingdom Lake Lamode
Wooded Kingdom Steam Gardens
Cloud Kingdom Nimbus Arena
Lost Kingdom Forgotten Isle
Metro Kingdom New Donk City
Snow Kingdom Shiveria
Seaside Kingdom Bubblaine
Luncheon Kingdom Mount Volbono
Ruined Kingdom Crumbleden
Bowser's Kingdom Bowser's Castle
Moon Kingdom Honeylune Ridge
Dark Side Rabbit Ridge
Darker Side Culmina Crater

Characters[]

1980s Mario in Odyssey

Mario with Pauline.

Playable[]

Assisting[]

Villains[]

SMO Broodals

The Broodals.

NPCs[]

Super Mario Odyssey - Photo artwork 09

Mario with the Shiverians.

Enemies[]

Super Mario Odyssey - Enemies Set

Official artwork of Mario with all the captured enemies.

Items and objects[]

Super Mario Odyssey - The Odyssey

The Odyssey.

  • The Odyssey
  • Regional Coins
    • Purple Coins (Mushroom Kingdom)
    • Top-Hat Coins (Cap Kingdom)
    • Wheel Coins (Cascade Kingdom)
    • Pyramid Coins (Sand Kingdom)
    • Scale Coins (Lake Kingdom)
    • Bolt Nut Coins (Wooded Kingdom)
    • Leaf Coins (Lost Kingdom)
    • Portrait-Stamped Coins (Metro Kingdom)
    • Snowflake Coins (Snow Kingdom)
    • Shell Coins (Seaside Kingdom)
    • Tomato Coins (Luncheon Kingdom)
    • Oblong Coins (Bowser's Kingdom)
    • Star Bit Coins (Moon Kingdom)
  • ? Blocks
  • 8-Bit Pipes
  • Barrels
  • Beanstalks
  • Berries
  • Brick Blocks
  • Binoculars
  • Boomboxes
  • Boulders
  • Bowser Statues
  • Bubbles
  • Cactuses
  • Cap Clouds
  • Checkpoint Flags
  • Coin Blocks
  • Coins
  • Coin Rings
  • Coin Stacks
  • Crates
  • Girders
  • Gravity Walls
  • Ground-Pound Switches
  • Hat Launchers
  • Hat Trampolines
  • Hearts
  • Hidden Blocks
  • Jizos
  • Lava Plumes
  • Letters
  • Lever Switches
  • Life-Up Hearts
  • Lifts
  • Manholes
  • Meat
  • Moon Pipes
  • Moon Rocks
  • Motor Scooters
  • Moon Shards/Moon fragments
  • Multi Moons
  • Paintings
  • Peppers
  • Picture Match Parts
  • Poles
  • Power Moons
  • P-Switches
  • Pulse Beams
  • Push-Blocks
  • Puzzle Parts
  • Rainbow Notes
  • RC Cars
  • Rocket Flowers
  • Safety Bars
  • Scarecrows
  • Slingshots
  • Spark pylons
  • Spiked Shells
  • Spike Traps
  • Steel Blocks
  • Taxis
  • Trees
  • Rockets
  • Sand Geysers
  • Seeds
  • Turnips
  • Golden Turnips
  • Treasure chests
  • Warp Pipes
  • Wind
  • Yoshi Eggs
  • Zippers
  • Oil Drums

Presentation[]

The game runs in 60fps at a maximum resolution of 900p, giving it the highest visuals in the mainline series (if excluding HD Switch ports of past entries).[9]

Development[]

Music[]

Naoto Kubo

Lead composer Naoto Kubo has also composed the series' first-ever vocal song, "Jump Up, Super Star!".

Much of the music is live recorded and digitally created, and is focused on the orchestral, band-style, and rock genres - similar to Super Mario 3D World. However, the game's soundtracks are also region-based and a variety of instruments were used to fit the theme of the music a stage is based on (e.g. Bowser's Castle's music is based on ancient Japanese music). Director Kenta Motokura stated that "[a]t each destination, Mario will get to meet with music from various countries."

The lead music composer is Naoto Kubo who previously worked on Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker and Super Mario Maker, while Shiho Fujii and sound veteran Koji Kondo compose additional tracks. Kubo said that "[the] music has literally everything, from comfortable Bossanova-style music, Irish-style music, to even rock songs! I think many people may be surprised with the festival-like music in Bowser's Castle." According to Kubo, the game's music has to be done at a "larger scale" compared to the past Mario games.[10]

Release[]

Merchandise[]

Nintendo Switch - Super Mario Odyssey Edition box art 2

The Super Mario Odyssey Nintendo Switch edition console.

For a limited time, a Super Mario Odyssey-themed Nintendo Switch Bundle is available on the games release which includes the following:

  • The Nintendo Switch console
  • Red colored Left and Right Joy-Con controllers
  • A download code for the full Super Mario Odyssey game
  • A Nintendo Switch carrying case
  • A Nintendo Switch Dock
  • A Cereal with the box functioning as an amiibo.

Reception[]

Critical reception[]

Super Mario Odyssey has received widespread critical acclaim. Prior to its release, EDGE Magazine gave Super Mario Odyssey a perfect score of 10, praising the game for "taking big risks with an established formula and having them all pay off handsomely".[11] Ryan McCaffery of IGN had a similar view, also giving the game a perfect score of 10. Despite criticizing the camera controls, McCaffery was ultimately very impressed with the game, saying that it "is a brilliant adventure and love letter to the series that made Nintendo a household name".[12] Phillip Kollar and Allegra Frank of Polygon also praised the game, scoring it 9.5 out of 10. While Allegra somewhat criticized the boss battles, the two reviewers ended with "Super Mario Odyssey is almost certain to be counted among the best games in Nintendo's star series".[13] Andrew Webster of The Verge called the game "A weird, wild world bursting with ideas" praising how the game was always surprising saying "Because each world is so different from the last, I found myself constantly discovering things I didn't expect or hadn't seen before"[14] Peter Brown of Gamespot praised the game for its variety of platforming challenges and puzzles and how "The opportunities introduced by possessing others isn't just an easy source of laughs, but also works hand in hand with Odyssey's ever-present challenges.", while criticizing how some of Cappy's actions require motion controls. He gave the game a 10/10. [15] Dave Their of Forbes praised how unique the game was saying "Super Mario Odyssey is a wide-open challenge that never stops changing, even dozens of hours in." while heavily criticizing the game's motion controls. He gave the game a 9.5/10.[16] The game currently averages 97% on review aggregate site Metacritic (based on 67 reviews)[17], and 97.42% on GameRankings (based on 58 reviews), making it the third-highest rated game on the latter website.[18]

Awards and acknowledgements[]

Super Mario Odyssey was nominated for six awards at The Game Awards 2017, winning one, in the following categories:

Sales[]

By December 31, 2017, Super Mario Odyssey had sold 9.07 million copies worldwide. By March 31, 2018, it reached 10.41 million copies, making it the best-selling game for the Nintendo Switch.[20] As of January 31, 2019 it reached 13.76 million copies, although Mario Kart 8 Deluxe sold 15.02 million copies worldwide, lowering Super Mario Odyssey to the second best-selling first-party game for the Nintendo Switch.[21] By the end of September 2019, Super Mario Odyssey sold 15.38 million units knocking it down to the place of third best-selling game on the console. The game sold 16.59 million units sold by the end of December 2019. As of the end of March 2020, Super Mario Odyssey reached 17.41 units sold and fell to fourth place as the best-selling Nintendo Switch game as it was outpaced by The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild by less than 10,000 units. It reached 18.06 units sold by the end of June 2020, but fell even further down in term of rating as it was now the 6th best-selling Nintendo Switch game. Having been outsold by both Pokémon Sword and Shield and Animal Crossing: New Horizons. The game reached 18.99 million units sold by the end of September 2020. The game became the sixth game to sell over 20 million units on the Nintendo Switch before the end of 2020. It sold 20.23 million during that time period. The game reached 20.83 million units sold at the end of march 2021. It surpassed 21.40 million units sold as of the end of June 2021. It reached 21.95 million units by the end of September 2021. As of the end of 2021, it reached 23.02 million units sold worldwide. The game reached 23.50 million units as of the end of March 2022. On June 30th 2022, it reached 23.93 million units sold worldwide.

Credits[]

Gallery[]

  Main article: Super Mario Odyssey/gallery

Videos[]

Videos
Super_Mario_Odyssey_-_Nintendo_Switch_Presentation_2017_Trailer
Nintendo Switch Presentation 2017 Trailer
Super_Mario_Odyssey_-_Game_Trailer_-_Nintendo_E3_2017
Trailer at E3 2017
Super_Mario_Odyssey_-_Nintendo_Switch_-_Nintendo_Direct_9.13.2017
Nintendo Direct Presentation
Jump_Up,_Super_Star!_-_Super_Mario_Odyssey_Musical
Jump Up, Super Star! Musical
Main Page: Super Mario Odyssey/videos


Soundtrack[]

Trivia[]

  • Super Mario Odyssey is the first mainline Super Mario series game to receive an "E10+" rating over the average "E" rating from the ESRB in North America. Similarly, this is also the first in the series, or any Mario game, to receive a "B" rating (ages 12 and up) instead of the average "A" rating from CERO in Japan.
    • Series producer Yoshiaki Koizumi believed the CERO ratings board has given the rating due to the use of "realistically"-depicted tanks, also known as Sherms. However, it is also believed that the reasoning for the game's higher rating is due to the game's uses of attire customization including the "boxers" outfit, mild violence, realistic-looking creatures, and frightening boss battles.[22]
  • As confirmed in the September 13, 2017 Nintendo Direct presentation, Super Mario Odyssey is the first game to feature lyrics.
  • The first home console Super Mario game to be developed by the Nintendo EPD studio after all of Nintendo's studios have merged into the EPD name in 2015.
  • Although prior Mario media have featured Bowser trying to initiate a forced marriage with Princess Peach, such as the anime Super Mario Bros.: Peach-Hime Kyushutsu Dai Sakusen! as well as The Super Mario Bros. Super Show episode "Do You Princess Toadstool Take This Koopa...?" and the Super Mario Adventures comic, Odyssey is the first time such a plot line occurred in one of the games and second to have Bowser and Peach marry, with Super Paper Mario being the first, but with Count Bleck planning it instead.
  • A browser game was released in 2017 on the Play Nintendo website called Super Mario Odyssey Fun Trivia Quiz.
  • The song that plays when collecting a Star from the Mushroom Kingdom is actually taken from the Super Mario 64 DS remake and not the original.
  • List of possible kingdom's regional and non-regional inspirations:
    • Fossil Falls: Prehistoric culture
    • Tostarena: Mexico (based on Kenta Motokura's trip to the country)
    • Steam Gardens: Inspired by the film Silent Running
    • Forgotten Isle: South American rainforests
    • New Donk City: 1930's New York City with Donkey Kong Country elements
    • Shiveria: Possibly Iceland or Ireland
    • Bubblaine: Beach resorts (possibly the Caribbean)
    • Mount Volbono: Europe and its food-focused cultures with Greek-based buildings
    • Crumbleden: Medieval times
    • Bowser's Castle: Ancient Japan
    • Honeylune Ridge: Romantic beliefs involving the moon
  • Unlike Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario 64 DS it appears to have a much heavier emphasis on 'sandbox-style' exploration with no hub world, similar to more modern games of the genre such as Minecraft and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (released in the same year). This is especially due to the removal of the lives mechanic.
    • Additionally, the mechanic in which the player collects Power Moons and resume gameplay right away calls back to the Rareware-era games like Banjo-Kazooie.
  • This is the first time an open-world 3D Mario game has a secret final challenge level with high difficulty, similar to the ones since Super Mario Galaxy 2.

References to other games[]

  • Splatoon/Splatoon 2 - The "beep" sound effect when the Inkling refills enough ink is reused when Mario resurfaces and the oxygen meter refills.

References[]

  1. Nintendo. (June 13, 2017). Super Mario Odyssey - Game Trailer - Nintendo E3 2017. YouTube. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
  2. https://www.nintendo.co.jp/switch/aaaca/sp/index.html
  3. https://www.nintendo.co.uk/News/2017/June/The-Nintendo-Switch-journey-comes-to-E3-to-reveal-new-worlds-for-Mario-s-odyssey-1233791.html
  4. http://www.nintendo.com.au/the-nintendo-switch-journey-comes-to-e3-to-reveal-new-worlds-for-marios-odyssey
  5. Official Nintendo website (Korea). Retrieved September 19, 2017.
  6. Official Nintendo website (Taiwan). Retrieved September 19, 2017.
  7. http://www.ign.com/articles/2017/06/13/e3-2017-super-mario-odyssey-release-date-announced?utm_source=zergnet&utm_medium=Web&utm_campaign=Zergnet_1782972
  8. https://www.nintendo.co.jp/hardware/amiibo/chart/index.html
  9. Super Mario Odyssey tech analysis - YouTube
  10. Super Mario Odyssey music lead and director share messages about the game's soundtrack (Nintendo Everything) Date: May 19, 2018. Author: Brian.
  11. EDGE issue showed up in stores
  12. http://au.ign.com/articles/2017/10/26/super-mario-odyssey-review
  13. https://www.polygon.com/2017/10/26/16551724/super-mario-odyssey-review
  14. https://www.theverge.com/2017/10/26/16552118/super-mario-odyssey-review-nintendo-switch
  15. https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/super-mario-odyssey-review/1900-6416795/
  16. https://www.forbes.com/sites/games/2017/11/02/super-mario-odyssey-review-a-perfect-game-with-a-problem/#25c565b21e48
  17. http://www.metacritic.com/game/switch/super-mario-odyssey
  18. http://www.gamerankings.com/switch/200275-super-mario-odyssey/index.html
  19. Awards - The Game Awards 2017. The Game Awards. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  20. IR Information : Sales Data - Top Selling Title Sales Units. Nintendo. Retrieved April 26, 2018.
  21. [1]
  22. Entertainment Software Rating Board's rating for Super Mario Odyssey. Retrieved November 24, 2017.

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